marrt
Platinum Member
For some time now, I've wanted a wing mower. I have almost exactly 3 acres to mow. And I don't particularly like to mow. Consider it a waste of time. It was taking almost 3 hours to mow, including a break. With the wing mower, its down to about 1 hour and 15 minutes. I think I can get it down to one hour if I do a little landscaping (to avoid the "detail" mowing).
The mower I bought is a Swisher 60" trail mower. I bought it from a gentleman who originally purchased it for his wife to tow behind her ATV. She took one look at it and said "I don't think so!" I paid $1000 even and it had never been used. Too good a deal to pass up. This mower is going for about $1500 at TSC, with tax. I've mowed 3 times with it and am happy so far.
One interesting thing is that the Power-Trac will mow faster than the wing mower can handle. In other words, the wing mower will bog down in tall grass before the Power-Trac mower.. I guess this is partly due to the more efficient design of the rear discharge mower. Hmmmm. I wonder if I could convert the Swisher to rear discharge and mow even faster? And then there's the double wishbone suspension I was thinking about fabricating to smooth out the Power-Trac's ride and maintain top speed for a longer period………
I do wonder why PT does not offer a wing mower. Not only would it be a logical option for consumers with larger acreage, but it would also be a nice option for people with hills to transverse. When pulling the Swisher without the PT mower engaged, I found I could easily maintain full speed up any hill. The PT mower "robs" a lot of power from the tractor. I'm guessing about 14HP or so. Speaking of this idea -- Hans, did you ever put a motor on your PT mower? Full report please.
The mower I bought is a Swisher 60" trail mower. I bought it from a gentleman who originally purchased it for his wife to tow behind her ATV. She took one look at it and said "I don't think so!" I paid $1000 even and it had never been used. Too good a deal to pass up. This mower is going for about $1500 at TSC, with tax. I've mowed 3 times with it and am happy so far.
One interesting thing is that the Power-Trac will mow faster than the wing mower can handle. In other words, the wing mower will bog down in tall grass before the Power-Trac mower.. I guess this is partly due to the more efficient design of the rear discharge mower. Hmmmm. I wonder if I could convert the Swisher to rear discharge and mow even faster? And then there's the double wishbone suspension I was thinking about fabricating to smooth out the Power-Trac's ride and maintain top speed for a longer period………
I do wonder why PT does not offer a wing mower. Not only would it be a logical option for consumers with larger acreage, but it would also be a nice option for people with hills to transverse. When pulling the Swisher without the PT mower engaged, I found I could easily maintain full speed up any hill. The PT mower "robs" a lot of power from the tractor. I'm guessing about 14HP or so. Speaking of this idea -- Hans, did you ever put a motor on your PT mower? Full report please.
